ECU Volleyball Heads to South Carolina Invitational
September 17, 2015 | Volleyball
| Matches 9-11: South Carolina Invitational | |
| Dates | Friday, Sept. 18 - Saturday, Sept. 19 |
| Times | ECU at South Carolina - Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. ECU vs. Wofford - Sept. 19 at 10 a.m. ECU vs. Charleston Southern - Sept. 19 at 4 p.m. |
| Location | Columbia, S.C. |
| Game Notes | East Carolina  |
| Coverage | ECU at South Carolina - SEC Network | WatchESPN | Live Stats - All Matches |
| @ECUScoreboard | |
GREENVILLE, N.C. - The East Carolina volleyball team heads to Columbia, S.C., for the South Carolina Invitational in which the Pirates will go up against the Gamecocks, Wofford and Charleston Southern. ECU and host, South Carolina, meet Friday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. Pirate Nation can watch East Carolina on the SEC Network or view the video stream on WatchESPN. On Saturday, Sept. 19, the Pirates take on Wofford and Charleston Southern at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., respectively.
The Series vs. South Carolina
East Carolina and South Carolina will meet for the 11th time in program history and the Gamecocks lead the all-time series 8-2. However, Friday's contest marks the first meeting between the two schools since 1983. That year, South Carolina swept ECU by scores of 15-3, 15-3, 15-5 at the Wake Forest Quad Tournament. East Carolina will be looking for its first win over the Gamecocks since 1979 when the Pirates won, 2-1 [17-15, 10-15, 18-16] at the South Carolina Invitational.
The Series vs. Wofford
ECU and Wofford will go up against each other for the fifth time in program history and the Pirates hold a 3-1 edge over the Terriers. In their last meeting in 2009, Wofford swept East Carolina 25-14, 27-25, 25-11 at the Winston-Salem State Rams Challenge. ECU is looking for its first win over the Terriers since 2005, when the Pirates won in straight sets, 30-21, 30-21, 30-27 at the Wofford Tournament.
The Series vs. Charleston Southern
The Pirates and Bucs go head-to-head for the seventh time in program history on Saturday and East Carolina owns a 4-2 advantage over Charleston Southern in the all-time series. The two squads last met in 2013 when ECU swept CSU by scores of 27-25, 25-22, 25-19. The Bucs are looking for their first victory over the Pirates since 2011 when Charleston Southern won in five sets.
Last Time Out
Junior middle hitter Ashley McRae was named the East Carolina Invitational Most Valuable Player after posting eight total blocks, 26 kills and hitting .261 in the tournament. On the final day of the invitational McRae, along with Kierra Lee-Dunson and Sabrina Gonzalez who were named to the All-Tournament Team, helped ECU to a split after the Pirates fell to Western Carolina 3-1 [23-25, 16-25, 25-20, 19-25] before defeating William & Mary in straight sets by scores of 27-25, 25-21, 25-22. With the split, ECU moves to 6-2 overall, while Western Carolina is now 5-6 and William & Mary goes to 5-5 on the year. Middle hitters Lee-Dunson and McRae led the squad with 18 and 13 kills, respectively against Western Carolina before William & Mary took notice and held the pair to 14 kills combined in the second contest of the day. Despite the Tribe's attempt to contain the middles, McRae still finished the match hitting a team-high .368. With the middles being defended closely, sophomore outside hitter Ashton Mares stepped up and led ECU with 11 kills against William & Mary. She also added seven digs and one service ace while hitting .280. Gonzalez was consistent throughout the tournament as she led a balanced offense with a total of 120 assists to average 12.00 assists per set. She also contributed 24 digs, eight kills and as many blocks to go along with a pair of aces over the three matches. The ECU defense was solid once again as senior libero Erika Figueroa led the squad with 54 digs to average 5.40 per set over the weekend. Figueroa set the tone for the rest of the defense as senior defensive specialist Lauren Bewick added 20 digs (2.00 per set) and Mares notched 19 (1.90 per set) during the tournament. The Pirates finished the weekend with 18.0 total blocks and were led by McRae and Gonzalez who each put up eight total blocks for an average of 0.80 per set.
About the Pirates
East Carolina heads into the South Carolina Invitational with a 6-2 overall record. The Pirates opened the year with a 4-0 mark and are coming off of a weekend in which they went 2-1 en route to winning the East Carolina Invitational. The Pirates are 5-0 in three-set matches this year and are hitting .268 as a team. ECU averages 13.38 kills per set on 12.59 assists per set, while adding 1.83 aces per set. Defensively, the Pirates average 14.55 digs per set and 1.76 blocks per set. Ashton Mares, a sophomore outside hitter, leads ECU with 3.14 kills per set, while adding 2.03 digs per set. Ashley McRae has been very consistent as she owns a team-best .343 attack percentage with 2.72 kills per set. She has also posted a team-leading 0.76 blocks per set. Junior Sabrina Gonzalez has dished out 308 assists on the year to average 10.62 per set, while adding 1.83 digs and 0.79 kills per set. Senior libero Erika Figueroa leads the ECU defense with 5.45 digs per set. She has also added 19 assists and six service aces for the Pirates. Figueroa has tallied 931 career digs and is just 70 shy of etching her name into the ECU career record book.
Scouting the Gamecocks
South Carolina brings a 4-5 overall record to its home tournament and the Gamecocks are 2-1 when playing in Columbia, S.C. After starting the year 5-0, the Gamecocks are trying to snap a 0-4 losing streak in which they dropped contests to Furman, Pittsburgh, Michigan and Western Michigan. As a team, South Carolina is hitting .207 with 12.91 kills per set on 12.00 assists per set. The Gamecocks are averaging 14.61 digs per set to go along with 2.12 blocks per set. Dessaa Legros leads the squad with 128 kills to average 4.00 kills per set. She also adds 60 digs (1.88 per set) and 14 total blocks (0.44 per set). Aubrey Ezell is the team's setter with 332 assists to average 10.06 assists per set, while adding 101 digs for an average of 3.06 per set. Helping Ezell out on defense is Joely Cabrera who averages 3.05 digs per set off the bench.
Scouting the Terriers
Wofford comes into the South Carolina Invitational with a 5-6 overall record, with four of its wins coming at neutral sites. The Terriers are looking to snap a three-match losing skid in which they fell to Tennessee, College of Charleston and Jacksonville last weekend. Despite hitting .196, the Terriers are averaging 12.53 kills per set on 11.58 assists per set. The team has tallied 61 service aces for an average of 1.61 per set. They have also dished out 14.55 digs per set and 1.71 blocks per set. Bella Santoro and Alex Holland lead Wofford with 108 and 107 kills, respectively. Santoro averages 2.84 per set while adding a team-leading 2.66 digs per set. Holland averages 2.82 kills per set thus far. Molly Mayo is the Terriers' setter with 392 assists for an average of 10.32 per set. She also owns 81 digs for an average of 2.13 per set.
Scouting the Bucs
Charleston Southern is 3-9 on the year and riding a five-match losing streak which dates back to September 5. The Bucs are hitting .153 as a team and are averaging 11.38 kills per set on 10.60 assists per game. Despite their offensive shortcomings, Charleston Southern's defense boasts an average nearly 17 digs per set with 2.00 blocks per game. Meredith Parrott leads the Bucs with 114 kills to average 2.53 per set. She also adds 35 total blocks at the net. Cassidy Greer is the setter as she averages 7.00 assists per set to go along with 2.02 digs per game. Ashley Higginbothem has been stout on defense with 225 digs to average 5.00 per game. Also turning in a strong defensive effort for the Bucs is Kylie Klein who leads the squad with 47 blocks for an average of 1.07 per set.
Eyeing the Record Books
Senior libero Erika Figueroa has been stout on defense this season for the Pirates. The Orlando, Fla., native has accumulated 158 digs in eight matches to average 5.45 per set. She has now amassed 931 digs during her four-year career in purple and gold and is just 71 digs shy of entering the East Carolina annals.
ECU and the SEC
East Carolina volleyball is currently 7-23 against SEC opponents with victories coming over Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Mississippi State and South Carolina. All of ECU's wins over SEC opponents came prior to 1982 with the exception of a 3-0 sweep over Mississippi in 2000 making it 15 years since the Pirates have defeated an SEC opponent. The Pirates have only recorded multiple victories over Mississippi State and South Carolina, beating both teams on two occasions.
Setting the Tone
Junior Sabrina Gonzalez seems to be settling into the setter role nicely as the Elizabeth City, N.C., native has paced the offense with 308 assists to average 10.62 assists per set. The transfer from UNC Pembroke has been very consistent on the court and has contributed to more than 80-percent of ECU's assists. She has helped the Pirates average 12.59 helpers per set in eight matches which has led to a .268 team hitting percentage by the offense. Most recently, Gonzalez's efforts awarded her a nod to the East Carolina Invitational All-Tournament Team as well as American Athletic Conference Honor Roll.
Block Party
Kierra Lee-Dunson and Ashley McRae have been solid at the net for East Carolina as they have combined for 43 total blocks and have helped limit the opponents' hitting percentage to .137. Lee-Dunson has tallied 21 total blocks in eight matches to average 0.72 blocks per set, while McRae is averaging 0.76 blocks per set with 22 total blocks. The pair have helped ECU post 51.0 total team blocks and average 1.76 blocks per game, while opponents are being held to 1.45 blocks per set.
Coming Up
Following the South Carolina Invitational, East Carolina begins American Athletic Conference action against Cincinnati on Friday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Pirates play Cincinnati, Memphis, SMU and Tulsa on the road before their conference home opener on Friday, Oct. 9 against Tulane at 7 p.m.
